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Track: The Monsoon at Misericordia

Friday evening’s Twilight Invitational at Misericordia University went on as planned, despite ominous weather reports that included tornado warnings in the area. But the show had to go on. The running events began at 5:30 p.m. with the 3200-meter relay, which went off without incident.

The howling winds picked up soon after, and by the time the 400 relay teams hit the track, the rain came. By that time, the goal of meet organizers was getting as many events completed before the inevitable deluge.

And then, the runners in the 1600 hit the track for what ended up being a four-lap fight against Mother Nature. By the time the lead pack (including Holy Redeemer’s Frazee Sutphen and Mitch Ford) reached the the bell lap, the steady flow of rain had turned into a downpour.

With about 200 meters to go, the wind gusts picked up. And as Sutphen, Ford and company sprinted down the final straightaway, the athletes on the infield sprinted for cover. It was unlike anything I had ever seen at a track meet.

At the time, I had been under the tent covering the electronic timer; the tent darn-near blew off. Sutphen won the race, although I did not actually see him cross the line first. I headed to an equipment shed and rode out the worst of the rain with parents, athletes and coaches. While huddled in the tent, I ran into Holy Redeemer coach Kevin Walters and asked him who had run the race. He was not sure, although he thought Ford had pulled it out.

After asking around, I found out that Sutphen had won, although there was no documented time. The electronic timer understandably malfunctioned during the storm.

I then interviewed Sutphen and Walters for the story that appeared in today’s Citizens’ Voice (http://citizensvoice.com/sports/misericordia-invitational-gets-crazy-with-weather-1.1476068). Both Sutphen and Walters said they had never seen anything like that. Sutphen, though, enjoyed the experience. The end of the race had little to do with who had the best finishing kick. Rather, it was a battle against the elements.

“It’s just basically who can be most intense and who can get through that last little bit with those type of conditions,” Sutphen said.

Walters added: “With so many things going on, your mind is going 100 miles a minute. You go from that excitement and then, all of a sudden, ‘here comes the rain.’”

The meet was called after the 1600 but not before a race for the ages. Sutphen’s time was immaterial because while everybody ran for cover, he had nothing but the finish line on his mind.